Series of thefts in New Canaan linked to Northeast criminal ring
Windsor woman arrested after police chase
A multi-state task force launched in response to a series of high-dollar thefts at a Ralph Lauren store in New Canaan has cracked an organized criminal ring that has stolen more than $90,000 in goods.
The task force was formed after four separate incidents at the Elm Street store in October, the last of which ended with several suspects eluding officers after ramming a police cruiser and ditching their vehicle in a nearby neighborhood, police said.
Aysia Ryan, 20, of Windsor, was arrested Wednesday after leading Massachusetts and Connecticut state police troopers on a pursuit after a similar theft was reported in Auburn, Massachusetts.
She ultimately was taken into custody by Connecticut State Police and on Thursday New Canaan police served her a warrant, charging her with four larceny offenses in connection with t he October thefts from Ralph Lauren, according to a police report.
The string of thefts began in early October and all shared similar characteristics, Lt. Jason Ferraro said.
A car would pull up in front of the Ralph Lauren store and park in the no parking zone while two suspects entered the store and quickly dashed out with items to speed away, he said.
Over the course of the first week of October, the group hit the store three separate times, stealing about 11,300 in merchandise in all, Ferraro said.
The group tried to pull off the scheme again on Oct. 13, but they ran into an officer working an off-duty security assignment at the store and eventually hopped back in their car and sped away, according to a police report.
When on-duty officers caught up with them two blocks away, they sped up and struck one police cruiser before spinning off onto the sidewalk in front of St. Aloysius church, hitting another sign and speeding away down Cherry Street, Ferraro said. The suspects, who had not been identified at the time, ditched the running car in a nearby neighborhood and ran — a police dog unable to pick up their scent, he said.
After the chaotic chase, officials linked the New Canaan incidents to similar crimes in New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and elsewhere in Connecticut. They decided for form a task force across state lines and, with the help of Ralph Lauren Asset Protection agents, identified Ryan as a suspect.
New Canaan investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Ryan based on the work of the task force and they were able to track her down in the chase on Wednesday, Ferraro said.
New Canaan police also have obtained an arrest warrant for Jahliil Parrott in connection with the crimes, and he is incarcerated in Nassau County, New York. Another woman, whom police have not identified, is suspected in the crimes and investigators are in the process of securing her arrest warrant now, Ferraro said.
Multiple agencies also have pending arrest warrants for members of the ring, in addition to the three identified by New Canaan, and officials expect to release more details when those arrests are made, Ferraro said.